Newspaper-vending machine



R. R. FOGELSONGER NEWS'PAPER VENDING MACHINE Filed March 27, 1923 fig 1Oct. 13, 1925.

MW? Inventor A! %T0Vn8f.

Oct. 13,1925. I 1,556,777

R. R. FOGELSONGER NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE Filed March 2'7, 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 13, 1925. 7

i R. R. FOGELSONGER NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE Filed March 2'7, 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Fly. 5.

T] EVENING NEWS.

7 Wa Inventor flrrorne s,

Oct. 13,1925 1. 6.777 R. R. FOGELSONGER NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE FiledMarch 27, 1923 4 Sheets-Shoot 4 Fly 2 .72 f u [22 Van for flttorne j.

Patented Oct. 13, 1925.

ROY R, FOGELSONGER, OF CLARENCE, NEW YORK NEWSPAPER-VENDING MACHINE.

Application filed March 27, 1923. Serial No. 628,024.

To all whom'z't may concern: I

Be it known that I, ROY R. FoeELsoNonR,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Clarence, in the county ofErie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements inNewspaper-Vending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for vending or dispensing newspapersone at a time and more particularly to a machine for this purpose whichis capable of being controlled by a coin operated mechanism so that apaper can only be withdrawn from the machine after one or more coins ortokens of the proper dimensions have been placed in a suitablereceptacle provided for that purpose.

The present invention, however, is only concerned with the mechanismwhich delivers the papers one at a time from the machine and its objectis to provide means for this purpose which will permit of convenientlyand easily handling the newspapers resting within the machinepreparatory to dispensing the same one at a time; also to provide simpleand efficient means whereby the papers can be dispensed one at a timefrom the bottom of a stack within reach of the purchasers fingers; alsoto provide a safe-guard which prevents the withdrawal of a paper fromthe magazine when the feeding off device is not in operation; and alsoprovide means for indicating when the supply of newspapers in themagazine has become exhausted and thereby warn the prospective purchaseragainst placing a coin in the machine.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a newspaper vending machine embodyingmy invention. Figure 2 is a vertical'transverse section taken on line2-2, Figs. 3 and 4. Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken online 33, Fig. 2. Figure 4 is a fragmentary'horizontal section taken online 44, Fig. 2. Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section taken onlines '55, Figs. 3 and 4. Figure 6 is a' horizontal section taken online 6-6, Fig. 3 looking downwardly. Figure 7 is a fragmentary verticallongitudinal section, taken on line 7-7, Fig. 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the feed ing table forming partof thenewspaper;

' feeding mechanism, the push blocks mounted thereon, and the means forindicating when the supply of papershas become exhausted. Similarcharacters of reference refer to like parts throughout the severalviews.

The newspapers 10 which are to be dispensed in this machine are foldedor doubled 1 upon themselves at least once, so that the turn or foldededge is arranged transversely foremost. A stack or pile of such papersis arranged within an enclosing casing or magazine, which may be of anysuitable construction but which as shown in the drawings, for example,may consist of a bottom 11, an upright front wall 12, an up right rearwall 13, two longitudinal side walls 14 and 15 and a top 16, which maybe constructed of wood, sheet metal, or other suitable material. Thelower, part of the front wall is provided with a horizontal transverseslot or outlet 17 through which the newspapers may be withdrawn from thecasing by the purchaser, after the newspaper has been moved forwardly inthe casing within reach of the fingers of the purchaser. In order toenablethecustomer to' properly grasp the front or folded edge of thenewspaper, after the same has been moved adjacent to the rear side ofthis outlet slot or opening 17, parts of the latter are enlargedvertically, as shown at 15 which enables the person making the purchaseto introduce two fingers of each hand into the upper and lower parts ofthe enlargement 18 and grip the adjacent front folded edge of thenewspaper and withdraw the same from the magazine or casing through theslot 17. The newspapers to be dispensed may be introduced into themagazine or casing in any suitable manner, but preferably by mountingthe upper section of the front wall on the lower section of the same, bymeans of a pair of hinges 19, this upper sec tion being normally lockedin its closed position to the top 16 of thecasing by means of a lock 20,as shown in Fig. 1. r

A stack of newspapers within the casing is supported on its underside bymeans of a horizontal feeding table or plate '21 which is reciprocablehorizontally forward and backward in the casing for the purpose offeeding the lowermost newspaper of the V stack so that the front edge ofthe same is within reach of the fingers of the purchaser, as the sameare projected through the enlargements 18 of the outlet slot. Thefeeding table may be supported for this purpose by any suitable means,those shown in the drawings for this purpose being suitable andcomprising a pair of rollers 22 mounted on the bottom of the casing andsupporting the feeding table on its underside, and a pair of hangers orsupporting rods 23 pivotally mounted at their upper ends on the rearwall 13 of the casing while their lower ends are pivotally mounted onthe rear part of the feeding table, so that these links or hangers canswing forwardly and backwardly while the table supported thereby ismoved horizontally.

The two rods 23 are preferably connected by an upright plate 23 which ineffect forms a rear transverse wall on the table 21 and compels thelatter to move forwardly and backwardly in a straight line.

This horizontal movement may be imparted to the feeding table by anyapproved means, for instance, by means which are shown in the drawingsand which comprise a horizontally swinging main lever 2% arrangedtransversely below the feeding table and pivoted at one end by means ofa vertical chain 25 to one of the longitudinal walls of the casing,longitudinal links 26 arranged below the table and connecting thecentral part of the operating lever 2 with the rear part of the feedingtable, and a handle 27 projecting from the free end of the lever 24forwardly through a part of the outlet slot in the front wall of thecasing so that a part of this handle is accessible from the outer sideof the casing upon manipulation by the purchaser. In the actual machinethe for- Ward and backward movement of the handle 27 is controlled bycoin operated mechanism, which, however, is omitted in the presentdescription and drawings, inasmuch as the same would form the subject ofa separate patent application, because the same is applicable to anymeans for feeding or dis pensing commodities of various kinds. It is tobe assumed, however, in the present case that when the coin operatedlever 24 is moved into its rearmost position, the feeding table willalso be moved into its fully retracted or rearmost position and that aforward movement of this table for the purpose of feeding off anewspaper from the bottom of the pile is only possible after a coin orcoins of proper dimensions is introduced into the machine, asprevious-fly described.

For the purpose of enabling the feeding table to move one newspaper at atime, from the bottom of the stack, as this table moves forwardly, meansare provided which preferably comprise a plurality of horizontal feedingrods which are arranged transversely in a tier over the front part ofthe feeding table and each rod having enlarged end portions 28 and areduced intermediate part 29. The enlargements at opposite ends of thetier of the feeding rods are arranged in two vertical guideways 30, eachof which is formed between two guide ribs 31 and is opened at its upperend so as to permit the rods to be introduced therein while the lowerends are also open and terminate a short distance above the top of thefeeding table, so as to permit one rod at a time to escape from thelower ends of the guideways 30 and rest upon the feeding off tableimmediately below the same. The folded front edge of each newspaper iswrapped around the reduced intermediate part of one of the feeding rodsand this construction of each rod is preferably so determined that thefolded end of the newspaper together with the diameter of the contractedpart of a feeding rod within the same, is equal to or substantiallyequal to the diameter of the enlargements 28 and the opposite ends ofthe feed rod. Although each of these rods is preferably of round form incross section for cheapness of construction and to facilitate movementof the same, it is to be understood that these rods maybe of other formsin cross section, if desired.

When the feeding plate is in its rearmost or retracted position, itsfront edge is spaced apart from the front wall of the casing but stillis arranged below the guideway 80 so that the lowermost feeding rodtogether with the newspaper mounted thereon can drop from the guideways30 upon the feed ing table immediately adjacent to its front edge. Asthe feeding table while in this position is now moved forwardly twofeeding off or push blocks 82 arranged on the upper side of the feedingtable and on opposite sides of the stack of papers, will engage theirvertical front ends with the rear side of the enlarged ends of thelowermost feeding rod and move the same forwardly together with thenewspaper until the front end of the feeding table is engaged with or isarranged close to the front wall of the casing, thereby bringing thefolded part of the newspaper within reach of the fingers of thepurchaser, which may be projected through the enlargements 18 and enablethe paper as a whole, to be withdrawn through the outlet slot 17. Thelength of the outlet slot is,

however, preferably less than the length of the feeding rods and alsopreferably somewhat narrower than the diameter of the enlargements onthese rods, so that only the newspaper can be withdrawn through theoutlet slot, but each feeding rod is left behind by reason of thenewspaper being peeled off therefrom, thereby leaving the empty rodbehind and resting upon the feed ing table. Upon, however, subsequentlymoving the feeding table backwardly preparatory to feeding off the nextnewspaper, the empty rod is pushed off from the front end of the feedingtable and into a compartment 45 which is formed in the adjacent lowerpart of the magazine or casing from which the same can be subsequentlyremoved to be used over andover again when loading the machine with anew batch of papers.

The push or feeding off blocks 32 are preferably of such length thatwhen the feeding table 21 is moved into its foremost position, the uppersides of these lOlOClIs will engagewith the underside of the ends of thenext following feeding rod in the tier and thus prevent the same fromfalling down upon the table until such a time as the feeding table isagain moved into its rearmost position.

For the purpose of preventing tampering with the machine and fishing apaper out from the exterior of the casing, through the outlet thereof, ashutter 33 is provided which is movable vertically into the position inwhich it obstructs or clears the path of the lowermost newspaper betweenthe front wall of the casing and the front end of the feeding table.When, however, the feeding table is released by a coin controlledmechanism and permitted to move forwardly under the action of the handle27 and associated parts, the-first effect of the. forward movement ofthis table is to raise the shutter 33 so as to clear the path forthelowermostnewspaper.

The preferred means for accomplishing this purpose comprise two hangers34 arranged in the front part of the casing and connected at their lowerends with opposite ends of the shutter 33, two longitudinal liftinglevers or bars 35, each of which is pivoted at its rear end on the rearwall of the casing, so as to swing vertically and also pivotallyconnected at its front end with the upper end of one of the hangers 34and two thrust links 36 which are arranged in forwardly inclinedpositions on opposite sides of the casing and each pivotally connectedat its lower end with the rear part of they feeding table while itsupper end is pivotally conne:ted with one of the longitudinal liftinglevers 35 between thefront and rear end of the same.

Due to this organization, the shutter 33 will be moved downwardly intoits operative position when the feeding table ismoved bacl-twardlyinasmuch as a rearward movement of this table pulls the links 36backwardly and the longitudinal bars 35 downwardly, while a forwardmovement of the table causes the links 36 to elevate the bars andthereby lift the shutter 33 so that the same does not obstruct theoutlet opening 17 and thus permit a paper to be withdrawn tlierethrough.

in the absence of any provision, purchasers would be liable to introducecoins into a machine for the purpose 1 of purchasing cat-or which ispreferably constructed in the form of a plate and provided on its frontside with an inscription,'such as the words Soldout, or others of likeimport. When one or more newspapers are resting upon the upper surfaceof the feeding table, this indicating plate is turned downwardly againstthe upper side of the feeding table into a horizontal position by theweight of the newspaper resting thereon, but when the last paper hasbeen sold or withdrawn from the machine, this indicating plate isautomatically raised into an upright position, so that the notice on thefront side of the same is visible through a transparent pane or window44 in the front wall of the easing, thereby notifying the trade that nomore newspapers are to be had.

The means whereby this indicating plate may be thusoperated comprise ahorizont-al rod or shaft 38 which is connected wit-h the lower end ofthe indicating plate'37 and is pivotally mounted on the feeding plate inany, suitable manner, for instance, by passing the same through bearingopenings formed in the push blocks 32, a lifting arm 39 secured to oneend of this shaft, lifting weights 40 arranged within the casing on oneside thereof, a lifting cord 41 connecting the lifting arm 39 with theweight 40 and a guide pulley 42 which is mounted within the upper partof the casing and around which the lifting cord 41 passes. Thisconstruction permits the indicator plate 47 to be depressed from itsvertical position into a horizontal position and retained in the lastmentioned position by the weight of one or more papers, but the instantthe last paper is withdrawn the weight 40 will lift the indicator plate47 so that it is visible from the outside of the machine and thusindicates that the machine is empty.

In order to permit the purchaser to ob- ,tain a good grasp upon theturned front edge of the newspaper which surrounds one of the feedingoff rods, the front edge of the feeding plate is provided with a pair ofnotches 43 which coincide with the enlargements 18 of the outlet slotandthus enable the fingers to be passed underneath the front edge of thelowermost paper and obtain a sufficiently firm hold thereon toensure itswithdrawal from the machine and leave the respective feeding rod behindthe front wall of the casing.

As a whole, this machine is comparatively simple in construction, it isnot liable to get out of order because it has no delicate or sensitiveparts, it can be readily loaded with a stack of newspapers and it willoperate positively to deliver a newspaper from the bottom of the stackto a point within reach of the purrhaser whenever it is possible tomanually pull the handle 2'? forwardly.

I claim as my invention:

l. A newspaper vend'i machine comprising an enclosing casi adapted tocontain a stack of newspapers ant provided r-cith an outlet for thesame, a plurality of movable feeding rods arranged in :1. tier withinthe casing and each adapted to enage the inner side of the turn in o eof newspapers. and means for. succes U engaging: the several andmoving): the same with the respective newspapers to the outlet of thecasing comprisin" a fee nn'" table which supports said stack and ismovie toward and from said outlet, and push locks arranged on said tableon opp site ices of the stack and adapted to en a with the end portionsof said rods.

2. A newspaper vending machine comprising an enclosing casing adapted tocon tain a stack of new papers and provided with an outlet openingupright guid IVS arranged within the casing on opposite Slof the same, aplurality of horizontal f. ing rods arranged in a tier and 1 theiropposite ends with guideways while their intermediate pains adapted toengage the turns at the front ends of the newspapers, respectively. anda longitudinally reciprocating teed table adapted to support the stackof newspapers and provided with push blocks adapted to engage with theend portions of said rod and carry the same toward said outlet.

8. A newspaper vending machine comprising an enclosing casing adapted tocon.- tain a stack of newspapers and provided with an outlet opening,upright gnideways arranged within the casing on opposite sides of thesame, a plurality of horizontal feeding rods arranged in a tier andengaging their opposite ends with said guideways while theirintermediate parts are adapted to engage the turns at the front ends ofthe newspapers, respectively, and a longitudinally reciprocating feedtable adapted to support the rel; of newspapers and provided with pushblocks adapted to engage with the end portion of said rod and carry thesame toward said outlet, said casing being provided in front of saidguide ways with a receptacle for the rods after the newspapers have beendetached therefrom.

4t. 1%. newspaper vending machine conr prising an enclosing casingadapted to contain a stack newspapers and provided with an outletopening, upright guideways arranged within the casing on opposite sidesof the same, a plurality of horizontal feeding rods arranged in a tierand engaging their opposite ends with said guideways while theirintermediate parts are adapted to engage the turns at the front ends ofthe newspapers respectively, and a longitudinally reciprocating feedtable adapted to support the stack of newspapers and provided withpush-blocks adapted to engage with the end portions of said rod andcarry the same toward said outlet, the ends of said rod which engagewith said guideways being enlarged and the intermediate parts of thesame which are engaged by the newspapers being reduced.

i newspaper vending machine comprising a casing adapted to contain astack of newspapers and provided with an outlet, means for feeding saidpapers one at a time toward said outlet comprising a reciprocating teedtahle adapted to support said papers, a guide for the front part of saidtable. an upright forwardly and backwardly swinging support for the rearpart of said able, and means for closing said outlet in the rearwardposition of said table and opening the same in the forward positionthereof comprising a shutter movable into and out of a position acrosssaid outlet on the inner side of the casing, and an upper substantiallyhorizontal support swinging vertically and carrying said shutter and anupright inclined linkage connecting the rear part of said table with thecentral part of said shutter support.

ROY R. FOGELSONGER.

